The growing conventional wisdom in Asia is that America's 70-year leadership of the global order is at an end, and that China will inevitably rise to regional leadership: A regional Pax Sinica will replace the global Pax Americana.
I fear that U.S. disengagement, as signaled by the country's new administration, will result in a more unstable and less open world. But a regional Pax Sinica is neither inevitable nor desirable. Moreover, if Asia is to continue to enjoy stability and prosperity, it will still need U.S. leadership. In fact, there is no alternative.
